Phils finish first half at .500 after beating White Sox in 10

PHILADELPHIA — With a rainout Friday and a marathon, 24-inning doubleheader Saturday, the Phillies and White Sox already had declared this final series before the All-Star break would be a battle of attrition.

It was only fitting that they threw in one more extra-inning game Sunday for good measure.

After Jonathan Papelbon blew his fifth save of the year while one pitch away from closing it in the ninth, John Mayberry Jr. rescued the Phillies with a two-out game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th as the Phils (48-48) entered the break a .500 team thanks to a 4-3 win at Citizens Bank Park.

Mayberry started in place of Ben Revere, who broke his ankle at the end of Saturday’s first game and could be lost for the season. While Mayberry was 0for4 with two strikeouts in regulation, he’s been on overtime player this year. The winning hit improved him to 4for9 with two homers and six RBIs in extra innings this season.

The last time Mayberry had stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in extra innings, he hit a walk-off grand slam. This was less dramatic, but equally craved.

“Mayberry came up with the big hit, and that was all we needed,” said Jimmy Rollins went 1for3 with two walks and a run scored on a two-run double by All-Star Game-bound Domonic Brown in the bottom of the first. “Just put the ball in play and let it find the hole.

“Another grand slam would have been nice, but I love a single.”

Rollins was on his way to the airport to catch his waiting jet to the West Coast. Three extra-inning games and more than 10 hours of baseball in a 26-hour span ensured what he would do on the plane ride home for the break.

It helped that the Phils won two out of the three to get their fourth straight series win and give them nine wins in their last 13 games.

“I cannot wait to close my eyes,” Rollins said. “It was an interesting weekend, a very interesting weekend, a weekend where we should have walked away with all three games. We had plenty of opportunities, especially in Game 1. We fought to win the second game, then had to scrap to hang onto this game.

“That was a lot of baseball. The heat was relentless. Both teams were paying a price, you could see that … there wasn’t much left in anybody’s tank.”

Cole Hamels had a third straight dominating start, working eight innings and allowing two runs, with one each scoring in the seventh and eighth as the White Sox (37-55) chipped away at the Phils’ 3-0 lead. Hamels delivered a two-out RBI single in the fourth inning that scored an important run. He had two hits on the afternoon after starting the season 2for30 at the plate.

That lead vanished in the ninth when Papelbon, whose velocity has been taking a dip this season, Dayan Viciedo slapped a one-out single to left. Blake Tekotte pinch-ran for Viciedo and stole second base, then after a Jeff Keppinger fly out for the second out, Josh Phegley lined a single to center to easily score the tying run.

Papelbon sounded weary after the game and a little grateful there won’t be an All-Star appearance to make.

“It’s a mental grind. I think everybody on this team has gone through a lot mentally and physically,” said Papelbon, who enters the break with 20 saves and a 2.33 ERA. “It’s been a tough first half for us.

“I’m tired every day. That’s just part of it though. It’s kind of irrelevant … It’s just part of the grind.

“You accept it. If you don’t accept it you go to the minor leagues.”

Last season, Rollins stepped up his production in the second half with 15 homers, 54 runs an, 36 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in the final 72 games. The Phillies could use another late-season resurgence from the aging shortstop, especially with Revere out.

“We want to do better,” Rollins said, “but we’re not doing badly. It’s just we’re not way above in the win column, so you can never do enough. When you are (well above .500), you’re always doing enough.

“What’s meaningful is that we’re not out of the race, with 60-something games left. That’s going to determine the season. I’ve said it before, no matter how good you are, you’re going to lose 50 games and win 50 games. So those 62 is where it makes the difference. It probably will come down to the last weekend like it has been the last couple of years, and hopefully we’ll be popping open bottles.”